ABSTRACT
Ritual Poetic Drama within the African Continuum (RPD) is a tool for artists to access their own individual creative content, potency and power as artists. The methodology engages the artist as a creative entity rather than an imitative one. The process is designed to facilitate the artist’s ability to cover their ground, to discover their authentic voice and take responsibility for the contributions they are impelled to make to their community as empowered and engaged creative artists. This chapter interrogates the way in which artists of the dramatic form have been traditionally trained, with particular attention on the challenges faced by artists of color, specifically Black artists within classic training models inside the academy. It recognizes cultural connection and context as essential to the growth, development and empowerment of the Black artist and acknowledges the deficit faced when access to and acknowledgment of those connections are thwarted or marginalized.
